Cursed (Howl, #6) (18 page)

Epilogue

99). Save someone’s life.

100). Learn every language in the world.

101). Visit
every state.

10
2). Learn how to make pottery.

103). Give endangered species immortality potio
n so they don’t go extinct.

104). See a koal
a bear in its natural habitat.

105). Live every d
ay as though it were the last.

106). Never go a day without telling my
family how much I love them. 

“I like that last one a lot,” Declan commented, hovering over her. 

Samara glanced over her shoulder at him and
smiled. “I figured you would.”

Declan leaned down and kissed her on the lips, his skin felt warm against hers. Samara kissed him back, allowing herself to give into the feeling that she had whenever she was around him: the butterflies that swarmed around her stomach, and the goose bumps that crept down her arms.
She now knew that it had been fate for her to fall in love with Declan all over again. That was the reason the dove tattoo had been imprinted on her all those years ago.

She was the happiest that she had been in a long time. She knew that, wherever he was, Luke wo
uld have been happy for her.

She liked to believe, that somewh
ere, he was watching over her.

Samara hadn’t forgotten Luke. In fact, even though it had only been ten years since he had died, she knew that she would never forget him. She would carry a piece of him in her heart forever—a piece that she would always look back on when she wanted to remember that her heart hadn’t always belonged to Declan. Declan might be the last guy she would ever fall for, but Luke would always be the first, and for that, he w
ould always be special to her.

That wasn’t the only reason Luke would always be such
an important part of her life.

“Davenport!
” Samara called. “Davenport Lucas Kingsbury!” Her son came bounding into the room. Even though neither Luke nor Samara had known that they would be having a baby, he had been the biological father to the child she and Declan had raised together.

Samara sometimes liked to think that fate had given her
a baby so that she would always be able to carry a tiny piece of Luke with her.

“Do you want to play a video game with me befor
e bed?” Declan asked Davenport.

“I don’t think so,” Davenport replied, stretching out his arms and
yawning. “I’m really sleepy.”

“Head to bed then, kiddo. We can play a video game tomorrow morning. It’s Saturday morning, after
all,” Declan said with a grin.

“I’d rather wa
tch cartoons!” Davenport said.

Declan shrugged. “We can play video games, watch cartoons, and eat donuts, if you want. As long as we don’t wake Mommy up. She a
nd the new baby need to rest.”

Davenport grinned. “You say I was named after my dad, right?” He glanced over at Declan and added, “No offense, Dad. I don’t m
ean you. I mean my other dad.”

“No offense taken,
” Declan replied with a smile.

“You’re right about that, though,” Samara said. “Your other dad’s name was Lucas Davenport, and you’re Davenport Lucas.”

“Do you think that maybe I could name the new baby?” Davenport asked.

“Well, that all depends,
buddy,” Declan replied.

Davenport’s forehead wrin
kled in confusion. “On what?” 

“On what you want
to name her,” Declan replied.

Davenport hesitated. “I was thinking that maybe w
e could name her Taylor Emma.”

“Taylor
Emma, huh?” Samara replied with a smile.

“Yeah, well, that was Aunt Emma’s named before she married Uncle Colby. I just thoug
ht it would be a pretty name.”

“I like Taylor,” Samara agr
eed. “We’ll consider it.”

“
Thanks, Mommy! Goodnight,” Davenport said, planting a kiss on her cheek. He turned to Declan. “Goodnight, Dad.”

“Goodnight.”

*

Later that night, Samara and Declan sat around their campfire with
the members of the Tala pack.

“Colby and I have exciting news, Samara,” Emma said. She glanced over at Colby. “Do you w
ant to tell her, or should I?’

“Why don’t we both t
ell her at once?” Colby asked.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Emma replied. “On the count of three. One—two—three.” At the same time, Emma and Colby both sq
uealed, “We’re having a baby!”

“Congratulations,” Samara replied, hugging her best friend. “I’m s
o excited for the two of you.”

“Actually, Colby and Emma aren’t the only ones who have news,” Steve said, sitting down at the circle. “Congrats, though, guys. I have some news of my own to share.” He held up his hand and re
vealed the ring he was wearing.

“You got married?” Sama
ra asked with raised eyebrows.

“No, we’re not married yet, but Maya and I got engaged,” Steve replied. “She thinks it’s sexist that only women have to wear engagement rings, so she convinced me that I should wear one, too.” He shrugged. “It’s whatever to me. I like bling just as m
uch as the next dude in town.”

“We also have news,” Silas spoke up. He glanced around at them excitedly. “We’re in the process of adopting a child!”
 

“Congratulations!” Samara said with a smile, knowing how important it was to Silas and Kyle to be able to have
a child of their own one day.

“Oh, Samara? Jackie wants to know if you can come over tomorrow to do her hair before she goes to her first father-daugh
ter dance,” Penelope told her.

Jackie was Samara’s niec
e. “I’d love to,” she replied.

Chris and Kyana arrived at their pack meeting, kissing each other on the lips. They had four children together, and Samara was beginning to think that she had been right many years ago; she would have an eternity to see if the public displa
ys of affection ever wore off.

“Hey, guys?” Colby asked. “I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’s time we star
ted a new ritual around here.”

“What is it?” Samara asked.

“Well, how about every year on Luke’s birthday, which happens to be today, we start doing something to remember him by?” Colby said.

Samara knew that Colby had been missing his best friend more than ever lately. Ten years had gone by, and the pain was still there. In some ways, it had bee
n harder for Colby to adjust to Luke’s absence than it had been for her.

“I know the perfect thing,” Samara said. When everyone looked at her, she explained, “On our very first date, Luke tried to take me stargazing. Of course, that happened to be the night that Colby bit me,” she said, shooting a look in Colby’s direction, “But why don’t we plan on going
to a planetarium every year?”

“Or we could stargaze on Old Mill Road,” Declan suggested. “That’s the place where your first date took pla
ce, so why not make it there?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Colby said with a nod.
“I think Luke would love it.”

*

That night, they all huddled around a telescope that Colby had picked up at a hobby store on the way to Old Mill Road. The stars shone brightly in the night sky.

As Samara stared up at them, she couldn’t help but notice that one of the stars seemed to twinkle every time she looked at it.

Somehow, Samara knew that the star was a sign from Luke; it was twinkling at her to let her know that he
was
happy for her and that, wherever he was, he was watching down on her, and he was happy, too.

THE END

Jody Morse and Jayme Morse are sisters that reside in the Poconos. They write YA paranormal romance and suspense.

Connect with them at:

www.jodymorse.com

www.jaymemorse.com